Building a Three Gun AR 15

The sport of 3 gun has exploded in the last ten years. 3 gun is the first successful dynamic sport that involves the use of handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Prior dynamic sports involved mostly handguns, and rifle sports were slow shooting bulls eye competitions, and shotgun sports were skeet and trap. It’s really a wonder that 3 gun took this long to become popular.

One of the make or break it stages of 3 gun is the rifle portions of matches or comps. This is because the rifle stages can be long range, short range, or a combination of the two. With the pistol and shotgun stages the distance is predictable and doesn’t have much variation. Building a good, running rifle will require a variety of different parts. Of course you will need a quality lower receiver, a comfortable set of furniture, a good trigger, and an optic can make all the difference.

One specialty piece many forget is the barrel, yes a specific 3 gun barrel can give a major advantage. Odin works produces an 18 inch barrel chambered in 223 Wylde specifically designed for 3 gun. The .223 Wylde barrel is compatible with 5.56, as well as the new Wylde cartridge. The Wylde has a tighter chamber throat produces a more accurate cartridge. These 3 gun designed barrels feature either an intermediate or full length gas tube and block. When speed and accuracy counts an Odin barrel in 223 Wylde is hard to beat.

Now to give the barrel a nice little home to rest in you’ll need a good handguard. So what’s the best 3 gun handguard? Well there are a few features it needs. First off it needs to be tough, since three gun is a lot of run and gun the handguard needs to keep up. Then it needs to be lightweight, and you need to be able to attach accessories. So the answer is a keymod system, which Odin just happens to make. The Odin Works Raging 3 gun handguard is under a pound and rails can be attached only where you need them for accessories, which cuts the weight.

So next is the trigger. 3 gun is based on time and accuracy, and triggers are quite valuable on both fronts. So the best 3 gun triggers are often single stage with a light or adjustable pull weight. The Hiperfire Hipertouch 24 3 gun trigger is a lightweight single stage trigger that is a drop in device for both AR 15s and AR 10s. An alternative is the Geissele Super 3 gun trigger, this design is a fast, smooth, and dynamic trigger that allows for quick follow up shots.

The last accessory is a good optic for your 3 Gun AR 15. Since the range for the rifle portion can vary and alternate during a match an adjustable optic is often a better choice. The Vortex razor JM-1 is a perfect 3 gun AR 15 optic. The optic has between 1-6 power, and is easily adjustable between powers. The JM-1 was created with input from world champion shooter Jerry Miculek, and feature illuminated reticles, is fog, shock, and waterproof.

Adding just a few accessories to your rifle can turn any rifle into a 3 gun beast.

Some shooters may be able to run a stock rifle and dominate an event, but the majority need to squeeze out the full potential of our rifles, and the accessories out there can make your weapon a champion’s tool.